CHICAGO – Indiana State's time at the 2024 MVC Indoor Track and Field Championships got off to a strong start Sunday, as the Sycamores sit in first place on both the men's and women's side following the opening day of competition.
Will Staggs (pole vault),
Shomari Rogers-Walton (long jump) and
Niesha Anderson (weight throw) all won individual event titles on the opening day, with all three recording marks that rank in the top 40 nationally.
Brooklyn Giertz-Pfaff (pole vault),
Claire Pittman (long jump),
Mitch Conard (long jump),
Elias Foor (weight throw) and
Grace Quinlan (pentathlon) all earned all-conference honors in their respective events Sunday.
Indiana State picked up 57 points on the men's side and 53 points on the women's side on the opening day. The Sycamores were the only team to score more than 50 points on either side and will enter Championship Monday with double-digit leads on both sides.
Team Scores
MEN
1. Indiana State – 57
2. Drake – 42
3. Illinois State – 28.5
4. Northern Iowa – 22
5. Southern Illinois – 13
6. Belmont – 11.5
T7. Bradley – 9
T7. Valparaiso – 9
9. Evansville – 2
10. UIC – 1
WOMEN
1. Indiana State – 53
2. Belmont – 41
3. Illinois State – 39
4. Murray State – 25
5. Drake – 23
6. Northern Iowa – 20
7. Bradley – 19
8. Southern Illinois – 8
9. Evansville – 4
T10. Valparaiso – 1
T10. Missouri State – 1
Sunday MVC Champions
Sunday All-Conference
Sunday Scorers for the Sycamores
- Jackson Krieg, Trent Jones, Ethan Breen, Jason Dworak – distance medley relay (fourth, 10:06.83)
- Selene Weaver – pole vault (fourth, 3.85m/12-07.50)
- Ali Ilupeju – long jump (fourth, 7.27m/23-10.25)
- Noah Bolt – weight throw (fourth, 19.64m/64-05.25)
- Dan O'Laughlin – pole vault (fifth, 4.85m/15-11.00)
- Erica Barker – 5000m (sixth, 17:17.92)
- Kyra Young, Alysha Bradford, Halle Miller, Morgan Dyer – distance medley relay (sixth, 12:09.08)
- Parker Speth – pole vault (sixth, 4.75m/15-07.00)
- Landis Brandon – pole vault (sixth, 3.75m/12-03.50)
- Abby Balllengee – pole vault (seventh, 3.75m/12-03.50)
- Dominique Wood – long jump (seventh, 5.60m/18-04.50)
- Brett Norton – weight throw (seventh, 19.23m/63-01.25)
- Aliseonna Garnett – weight throw (seventh, 16.35m/53-07.75)
- Kennedy Merrell – pole vault (eighth, 3.65m/11-11.75)
- Ryan Golliher – weight throw (eighth, 18.38m/60-03.75)
Sprints/Hurdles
Sunday's sprints and hurdles events consisted of only prelims, but that didn't stop the Sycamores from putting on a show. Indiana State qualified 15 sprinters and hurdlers for Monday's finals, led by a quartet in the men's 60m in
Casey Hood Jr. (6.66),
Terrance O'Bannon (6.67),
Daunte Majors (6.86) and
Isiah Thomas (6.86).
Michelle McDonald also advanced to the 60m finals on the women's side with a time of 6.71.
Indiana State advanced a pair in both the men's and women's 60m hurdles.
Rachel Mehringer (8.33) and
Shanisa Stinson (8.55) had the top two times among heat winners on the women's side, while
Quincy Armstrong (8.03) and
Collin Forrest (8.23) both qualified for the finals on the men's side.
The Sycamores advanced a pair to the finals in both the men's and women's 200m finals. Hood Jr. (21.47) and Majors (21.56) will pull double duty in the short sprints finals for the Sycamores, while
Janiya Bowman (24.06) and McDonald (24.49) will represent the Blue and White in the finals on the women's side. Indiana State also advanced a pair to the 400m finals, as
Tahj Johnson (48.28) will represent the Trees on the men's side and
Iyanla Hunter (55.88) will represent the Sycamores on the women's side.
Distance
Indiana State picked up a trio of point-scoring results from the distance crew Sunday, while multiple Sycamores also qualified for Monday finals in distance events.
Erica Barker gave the Trees a sixth-place finish in the 5000m (17:17.92), while
Logan Pietrzak (14:33.64) led the way for the men's side in the event.
The Trees picked up points in both distance medley relays, as the men's team of
Jackson Krieg,
Trent Jones,
Ethan Breen and
Jason Dworak placed fourth at 10:06.83, while the women's team of
Kyra Young,
Alysha Bradford,
Halle Miller and
Morgan Dyer finished sixth with a time of 12:09.08.
Indiana State qualified three entries for finals in distance and mid-distance events.
Napoleon Hernandez (1:52.75) and
Caden Emmert (1:55.93) both advanced to finals in the men's 800m, while Breen (4:12.04) qualified for the finals in the men's mile.
Jumps/Pole Vault
Two of Indiana State's three individual champions from the opening day came from the jumps events, which accounted for 38 points on the men's side and 29 on the women's side.
Shomari Rogers-Walton (7.67m/25-02.00) picked up his first career MVC long jump title after previously winning multiple triple jump titles both indoor and outdoor.
Will Staggs (5.45m/17-10.50) made it 3-for-3 in terms of indoor pole vault conference championships won, with a potential chance of qualifying for the NCAA National Championships.
Beyond the two event winners, there were a plethora of strong performances from the Blue and White in the jumps events.
Claire Pittman (5.87m/19-03.25) and
Mitch Conard (7.31m/23-11.75) earned all-conference honors in the long jump, while five women's pole vaulters –
Brooklyn Giertz-Pfaff (3.85m/12-07.50),
Selene Weaver (3.85m/12-07.50),
Landis Brandon (3.75m/12-03.50),
Abby Ballengee (3.75m/12-03.50) and
Kennedy Merrell (3.65m/11-11.75) – all placed in the top eight.
The Sycamores also had multiple season-best performances Sunday in the field.
Ali Ilupeju (7.27m/23-10.25) and
Dan O'Laughlin (4.85m/15-11.00) recorded career-best performances to pick up points in the men's long jump and men's pole vault, respectively, while
Dominique Wood had a season-best mark of 5.60m (18-04.50) to score in the women's long jump.
Parker Speth also added points for the Trees in the men's pole vault with his mark of 4.75m (15-07.00)
Throws
Indiana State had another strong showing in the throws events, something that's become a staple for the Sycamores at recent conference championships.
Niesha Anderson had the big result for the Blue and White with a career-best mark of 21.40m (70-02.50) to win the women's weight throw. Anderson was joined in the point-scoring by
Aliseonna Garnett, who registered a mark of 16.35m (53-07.75).
The Sycamores had a quartet of scorers in the men's weight throw, led by
Elias Foor's mark of 19.67m (64-06.50) to earn all-conference honors. Right behind Foor was
Noah Bolt at 19.64m (64-05.25), while
Brett Norton (19.23m/63-01.25) and
Ryan Golliher (18.38m/60-03.75) also picked up points for the Trees.
Multis
Grace Quinlan led the way for the Sycamores in the combined events on the opening day, earning all-conference honors in the pentathlon with 3565 points. Quinlan's first-place mark in the high jump (1.74m/5-08.50) proved to be crucial in securing a top-three finish. Among the notables in the pentathlon for the Sycamores,
Kamille Gaskin-Griffith was second in the 60m hurdles (8.81) and seventh in the long jump (5.29m/17-04.25), while
Kayla Douglas was fifth in the high jump (1.59m/5-02.50)
After already picking up an all-conference honor in the long jump,
Mitch Conard has a chance to rack up more points for the Sycamores in the heptathlon. Conard is currently fourth at the midway point with 2976 points, including top-three finishes in the 60m (7.02), long jump (7.22m/23-08.25) and shot put (11.59m/38-00.25).
Jake Ottersbach is also in scoring position for the Sycamores with 2650 points, thanks to a top-five finish in the high jump (1.86m/6-01.25), while
Ty Newsom is less than 100 points off the final scoring position.
Up Next
Indiana State looks to hold on to its lead and win the MVC Indoor Championships Monday, with the first events starting at 10:30 a.m.
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